This series of lectures and seminars investigates radical change and continuous movement in the long nineteenth century: from the French Revolution to the early 1870s. The designed object will provide the link for these expressions through its material and conceptual aspects, and through its use- and exchange value in political economies. The series will be arranged more or less chronologically, but the issues and objects discussed span overlapping periods of time to emphasise the progressive and linear, as well as radical and discontinuous character of developments in material culture across the globe. A selection of critical approaches will be introduced for each session that focus on the production, representation and consumption of objects and highlight the socio-cultural changes that coin their respective environments.